A Need for Strings
by VMaddict
Summary: Starts at the end of 5-18. How I think Rory's confrontation with Logan should go.
1. Chapter One

Hey, this is my first fanfic so be gentle. Reviews would be awesome and much appreciated!

When she reached his door, she took a deep breath and hesitated. She couldn't believe what she was about to do.

The two weeks after Finn's party had been amazing. They had spent so much time together. They had run ins at the coffee cart every morning and he always seemed to be in the newspaper room when she'd go in to do work. Of course he spent the whole time trying to distract her and his mere presence always sent Doyle over the edge so they never stayed long, forcing her to write her articles somewhere else to avoid Doyle's wrath. He even took her out several times for dinner and slept over on a few occasions, though he was always gone when she would wake up.

They had a great time together. That's probably why she was so confused when it stopped. He stopped talking to her, stopped going to the newsroom, stopped getting coffee at the coffee cart, stopped calling her or taking her calls and simply stopped seeing her. At first, she wasn't that concerned, figuring he had gotten busy with school work or the Life and Death Brigade. However, when a few days turned into a week, she knew there had to be more to it than him being busy.

She had gone to Stars Hollow for the weekend in hopes that some quality time with her mom would get her mind off Logan. Paris showing up had put a damper on her plans. On the other hand, by preventing Paris from calling Doyle, Paris had prevented her from calling Logan.

They didn't intend on getting drunk, especially that early in the morning, but lamenting about their current situations had gotten them depressed and they felt it appropriate to drown their sorrows in the punch that Miss. Patty had provided. The combination of the booze, Paris leaving and the fact that she missed him had led to her dialing his familiar number.

In the end, his voice mail greeting was what broke her. She had spent the last two weeks in a rather deep depression about their time apart only to find out he was going club hopping. How could he be having fun when she was so miserable? What was wrong with him? Was he just heartless by nature or did it take practice to be so cruel?

She had laid in her bed with her head in her mom's lap crying as her mom stroked her hair to comfort her for almost an hour. When she finally stopped crying, they had a long mother-daughter talk. She realized that she had been in denial when she told Logan she could handle a no strings relationship. She wasn't that kind of girl and no matter how much she liked Logan, she knew that she couldn't keep compromising herself for him.

Shaking her head to clear the events of the last two weeks out of her mind, she took another deep breath and knocked on the door. When she heard footsteps making their way to the door, she felt her heart begin to race. Just as the door was opening, she felt all of her anxiety hit her like a punch in the stomach and before she knew what was happening, she passed out.


	2. Chapter Two

Sorry, I forgot to mention that I don't own Gilmore Girls or any of its characters. Thanks to anyone who reviewed! You guys are awesome and totally made my day!

The first thing she noticed when she opened her eyes was that she was not in her own room. Not being in her own room meant that the bed she was currently sitting on was not her own. She was a little freaked out over this. Looking around the room, she calmed down when she realized the room belonged to Logan. However, the panic returned when she realized that she had no idea how she got into Logan's room, let alone his bed. Knowing there was only one way to find out, she opened the door leading to the common room.

She was almost relieved when she only saw Colin in the apartment. Without taking his eyes off the video game he was playing, he greeted her. "I take it you're feeling better now?"

"What happened?"

"I heard a knock at the door and when I opened it I found you unconscious." Colin shrugged as if finding an unconscious girl at his door was a daily occurrence.

"Well, how did I get from the door to Logan's bed?"

Colin put down his controller and turned to Rory, rolling his eyes. "Well, first I thought about leaving you there but I didn't think Logan would appreciate that so, being the gentleman that I am, I carried you. Would you have preferred me to leave you there for anyone to see and do things to you?"

Rory sighed. "No, Colin. I'm sorry. Thank you for your help. God, this is so embarrassing."

"So, what happened anyway?"

"Umm, I fainted?"

"Wow, you really are Logan's type. Do you know why you fainted?"

Too humiliated to admit she fainted because of anxiety, she quickly thought of a different believable excuse. "I've been so busy with schoolwork lately that I don't think I've been eating enough."

Colin nodded. "Yeah you seem like that kind of student. Can I get you something? Don't want to faint again."

"Sure. What do you have?"

"I'm not sure. Why don't you join me in the kitchen?" Rory nodded and followed him into the kitchen and finally settled on Coco Puffs.

After finishing the cereal, Rory joined Colin on the couch and asked the question that had been eating at her for the past two weeks. "Colin, do you know what Logan has been doing for the past two weeks? I mean, I haven't heard from him or seen him and I was hoping you could tell me what was going on with him."

"Rory, you know Logan's my best friend. If he wanted you to know, I'm sure he would tell you. I know I probably sound like an ass, but I don't think I should get in the middle of this."

"No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked you that."

Colin sighed. "I'll tell you what. Logan should be back soon. Why don't you join me in my game while you wait for him?" Without waiting for an answer, Colin threw the controller in her lap and reset his game.

Thirty minutes later, there was still no sign of Logan.

"Oh yeah! I totally kicked your ass, Colin!" Rory exclaimed proudly, getting off the couch to imitate one of her mother's victory dances.

"Whatever. You only won because you cheated."

"Now, now Colin. Don't be such a sore loser. Everyone knows that Ace doesn't cheat." The sudden appearance of the familiar voice took them both by surprise.

"Hey man, where have you been? We've been waiting for you?" Colin greeted his friend.

"We?" Logan smirked.

Colin rolled his eyes. "Well, she was," pointing at Rory. "I felt kind of obligated to keep her entertained. After all, I did have her falling at my feet." He explained, sending a smirk in Rory direction. She blushed, looking down, remaining silent.

Tempted to ask him what he meant by that but deciding to let it go, Logan nodded in Colin's direction before turning his attention to the girl who currently seemed fascinated by the carpet. "So Ace, for what do I owe the pleasure of your company?"

"Actually, I have to talk to you."

Feeling the tension in the room, Colin knew he should probably give the two privacy. Not wanting it to seem completely obvious what he was doing, he pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and put it to his ear. "Hey Steph. Yeah, sure. No problem. I'll be right over." Putting his cell phone back into his pocket he turned to Logan. "That was Steph. She needs my help so I'm going to head over now. I'll see you later." Giving a nod to Rory, Colin walked out the door.

After what seemed like an eternity, Logan finally broke the silence. "So, what was it you wanted to talk to me about?"

A/N I thought about having Logan answer the door but decided that if it was Colin, at least it would give her a chance to collect herself.


	3. Chapter Three

"So, I haven't seen you in awhile. What have you been up to?" Rory asked trying to make small talk.

"Yeah. I've been really busy."

"Oh yeah, me too." Well, she didn't want to seem desperate or anything. "Did you have a nice weekend?"

"It was okay."

She was getting really tired of Logan's non-responsiveness. "You were clubbing, right?"

Logan hesitated, clearly uncomfortable. "Yeah. How'd you know that?"

Rory rolled her eyes. "I called you Saturday afternoon and I was greeted by your weekend itinerary. Not a very smart idea. What if I was a stalker? I could have easily tracked you down. But, I digress. Why didn't you return any of my calls?"

"It's not like I didn't want to call you back. I meant to, I just never got to it. I'm sorry. I'm a jerk."

She shook her head. "Forget it. That's not the reason I came here anyway."

"Okay, why are you here then?"

"I just wanted to tell you that I was wrong and you were right."

Logan smiled. "Well Ace, I must admit I do like the sound of that. But what, pray tell, was I right about? You're going to have to be more specific since it happens so often."

"Do you remember the conversation we had at my grandparent's wedding?"

She rolled her eyes at the sight of Logan's smile broadening. "Well, to be honest with you, when I think about that night, I don't exactly think about the conversation."

Feeling herself blush, Rory shook her head to try to focus on the task at hand. "Logan, come on. I'm trying to have a serious conversation with you."

He raised his hands in mock surrender. "Okay, okay sorry. Now what specifically was I right about that night?"

Rory took a deep breath. "I'm not a no strings kind of girl. I had just broken up with Dean and I was devastated. All I knew was that I didn't want to feel like that again any time soon. Then I found myself becoming more and more attracted to you and I didn't know what to do about my feelings because of my breakup with Dean. It felt like the strings were what caused all of my pain and you weren't looking for a girlfriend so the whole no strings thing felt like this amazing gift from God."

Closing the gap between them, Logan placed his hand on her cheek and used his thumb to gently stroke her cheek. Rory closed her eyes and relished the contact. "It has been amazing. I knew being with you would be great but you have far exceeded my expectations. Then again, you've always been an overachiever."

She gave him a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. He leaned in, brushed his lips against hers, and was surprised by the wetness on her face. He pulled back and was saddened to see the tears sliding down her face. Using his thumbs, he gently dried her eyes and whispered, "Ace, I don't understand what's going on. Why are you crying?"

Unfortunately, the question just caused her to cry harder. Feeling helpless, Logan gathered her up in his arms and held her until her sobs subsided. Taking a step back, she looked into his eyes and echoed the words she had said to her mother just two days before. "What did I do? Why don't you like me?"

And for the first time in his life, Logan Huntzberger felt his heart break.

A/N Sorry that I brought up the voice mail message but I felt it was totally ridiculous and it really bothered me for some reason. Anyway, I really feel the need to torment Logan right now because Rory was so devastated throughout the whole episode while he seemed to be carefree. So, I decided to torture Logan for a bit and make him feel Rory's pain before I let him off the hook. Lol. I'm so mean.


	4. Chapter Four

Thank you guys soooo much for the nice reviews! Cyber hugs to you all! Sorry this is so short, I decided to attempt to redeem Logan a bit. Lol.

Having been with as many girls as he had, his current situation wasn't an unfamiliar one. In fact, he considered dealing with hysterical females an occupational hazard. However, there was a big difference between those situations and his current predicament- he cared about Rory, cared about her more than anyone else in his life, cared about her more that he knew he should.

He had been selfish when he agreed to a no strings relationship. He had tried to tell her that she wouldn't be able to handle it, but the second he felt her lips attack his, he stopped thinking with his brain. If he had been honest with himself, he could have admitted that he was the one that probably would be unable to handle that kind of relationship. She was different than all of his other conquests and he knew it would be different. A kind of different he wasn't sure he would be able to deal with.

Now, that amazing girl that he cared so much about was standing in front of him, broken and it was all his fault.

"Rory, you did nothing wrong, I swear and I do like you. I like you a lot. Come on, you have to know that."

"Then why aren't I enough?"

A frustrated Logan ran his fingers through his hair. "What are you talking about? You are enough. You're more than enough!"

Rory shook her head and rolled her eyes. "We both know that isn't true because if it was, there wouldn't be a need for all of the other girls you've been with."

"There haven't been that many."

She groaned. "Logan, your need for one, just one other girl tells me that I'm not enough for you. I mean how many more guys do you have to see me date before you even consider dating me- exclusively."

"None."

"Oh yeah, I forgot how your version of a no-strings relationship works. It's okay if I see you with a different girl every night, but God forbid you see me with one guy and you're begging me to leave."

"That's not what I meant."

"Really? Then tell me, Logan. What did you mean?"

Logan sighed, knowing it was time to be honest with her and tell her what he had really been doing the past two weeks. She deserved the truth and now was as good a time as any to give it to her. He walked over to Rory and let her to the couch where they sat down side by side.

Turning to face her, he took a deep breath. "Okay, the last two weeks, I wasn'tdoing what it appears you think Iwas doing."

Rory gave him a confused look. "What were you doing then?"


	5. Chapter Five

Thanks to everyone else who reviewed. You are all awesome! Sorry this took so long, school's winding down and that means the profs are laying on the work extra thick. I wrote this during one of my classes so sorry if it sucks. Lol.

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"Those three weeks after Finn's party were incredible. I felt things for you I've never felt before. Each day we spent together was better than the last." Logan started.

"What's so bad about that?"

"Each night we spent together made it harder for me to leave in the middle of the night."

"Okay, well you could have just stayed. I never kicked you out. You always leave of your own volition." Rory logically reminded him.

"You're missing the point here, Ace."

She sighed. "Well, what's the point then?"

"Staying with you all night was a commitment I wasn't ready for."

"And people say that I overanalyze! Are you going to tell me what you've were doing for the last two weeks?"

"I'm getting to it. I was so jealous when you showed up to Finn's party with Robert and I know I was out of line to kiss you and ask you to leave with me. I'm sorry. I don't like the idea of you with other guys, let alone seeing you with other guys."

"Well, how do you think I felt when I saw you at the party with Whitney? No, how do you think I felt when I was shopping with my mother and we both saw you with another girl? It hurts."

Logan nodded in agreement. "Yeah I get that now. I know I didn't have a right to ask you not to see other guys when I was still seeing other girls, so I couldn't ask you to do that. The first week I realized that the arrangement we have wasn't working. There are too many emotions tied up in it."

Rory felt her heart drop. "So, you want to break this off? You want to stop seeing me?"

"No! That's what I realized that week. That I don't want to stop seeing you but I couldn't watch you with other guys. I've never felt that way about a girl and I was scared and didn't know what to do. So, I talked to Steph. She made me realize how selfish I was being and that this arrangement wasn't fair to you. She told me that I had to be honest with you and tell you what I want."

After processing this new information, Rory looked at Logan almost hesitantly. "And what is it that you want?"

Smiling, Logan took a step forward and gently stroked her cheek. "You. Just you."

A feeling of relief washed over her. All of her fear and anxiety about confronting Logan were transferred into passion as she closed the gap between them and kissed him without any reservations at all.

The need for air became overwhelming and forced them apart. Panting and looking at Logan she voiced the thought that had just popped into her head. "Wait a second, you don't see me for two weeks. The first week you realize that you want to be with me, but you still let another week go by without seeing me. What the hell were you doing last week?"

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A/N Was anyone else a little disappointed with their talk on the show? He was like "no"... sigh> "fine". lol.I was definitely mad at everyone at the dinner for treating Loreli like that. My friend was yelling at the TV "even I know she drinks a martini with an olive!" lol. Never a dull moment. 


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